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Thursday, 28 March 2013

2. My first Waldorf doll - OLA

OLA is my first doll I have made myself. Here she is:

I made her for a little girl Olivka, aged nearly four. She dreamt about a doll with brown hair combed in pigtails. She also wanted lots of clothes for her doll. I was glad to fulfill her wishes, and after some time... OLA was finished. What she's like you can see in the photos here. I am very fond of her because it took me long to complete her.

OLA is a doll of average size, she is about 14 inches (35 cm) tall. Her red and brown hair is made from wool mixed with alpaca (80% wool and 20% alpaca). Her face - light blue eyes, slightly marked coral lips, coloured with wax crayon cheeks, and just a few freckles.

OLA has got a nice blouse, skirt, ribbons to tie up her hair in two pigtails, trousers with braces and a tiny pocket. All these clothes were made from natural washable materials (100% cotton or velvet). To avoid shrinking, the fabrics used were washed before sewing. I tried to well-match the clothes and details, so that they would fit in.

Olivka wanted many clothes... I decided to knit a sweater from wool yarn, and mohair shoes, and yet a hat, and finally I sewed a pretty nighdress.

And now... a few words about dollmaking technique. When you make the doll's head, it is good to take the time and properly shape it. It is so that the well shaped head, especially face, gives the doll the look, almost personality. The nicely round head with distinctly emphasized cheeks, and, of course, properly embroidered eyes and lips - that's it. The doll is brought to life. Sometimes you need to try many times to get this one and only form of the eyes and lips (only touched with floss).

OLA's head was not so nicely formed at first. It was simply too flat. Agnieszka from Lalinda helped me to get the right shape. Thank you Agnieszka.